Prediction
When it comes to the favorite it is easy and logical to name Amaterasu first. Being the champion of both tournaments of this season so far, they don't need to be afraid of anything. And they will be ready to win the 7v7, although it will also be a challenge. The 7v7 is the format that will need every team member to perform to their personal best. And till now Amaterasu had enough people to cover some members having bad days, but with Altair being somewhat off the the level of the other guys and Zenon not being in any shape it is likely Amaterasu has no room for substitutions when it comes to big matches. And a weak day could cost the title defense. That being said they are still the big favorite. My personal guess for being the biggest contender is ProudBoys. That probably sounds confusing as I have talked about a missing depth in their roster in the past and the 7v7 is the format that will need exactly this. But Proudboys had to deal with some hard stuff in the last 2 tournaments and still have been extremely close to more than "just" a 3rd and a 4th place. Movement has been playing surprisingly decent, Shadey as "the" key player has a lot more to show, and if Alatriste is back to give them another option we should expect ProudBoys to really challenge for a final.
Poosy is the team, that I think is the hardest to guess for this tournament. Either they will shine now or they will decrease their performance. Only RIkkert, Python, and Domi to some extend have played to what we expected them to do so far. And the next tournaments will show if Poosy can fight back to old performances now or if their time of dominance is over. But what is sure is that guys such as Bagins, Herishey, Axiom, and Troister need to improve if they wanna fill their very own expectations. Virgins had the most spectacular roster change, with Extazz leaving the team, a guy that carried them in the 5v5 and is probably the best player of the game rn, and janne being added. A guy with a totally different playstyle, but possibly the best guy that was free, so a worthy addition.
The team without Extazz could even be more dangerous as they will be harder to forsee and members such as Quenouille and Steinmann now not only can, but need to look for something. On the other hand it will be hard for the team to find 7 people that play to a level close to Amaterasu without a guy, that can win a match alone.
So far being a quite and consistent team, Snappers are once more looking for a quarter-final. The transfer of Ivan is both a chance and a risk. No doubt Ivan in form can help any team, but swapping out 2 guys that are literally consistency machines is a hard decision at the same time. Enigma will also be looking for a deep run, but in the big format, it could be hard for them to achieve. Maybe this format compels Enigma to give Nightwing more playtime in important matches, something he looks capable of successfully doing.
When we take a look at the midfield teams, 13e Academy will be trying to go for a good result, with the help of BlackBeard, a top player along midfield teams, it looks more than likely,
. They are my guess for a quarter-final. Maybe not a quarter-final but at least advancing out of the group should be the case for NPP. Being shocked by both 13e and Gordon last time, and finishing group-stage only 4th, they will know the answers. It's hard to believe Melsyo has nothing to offer that will improve the situation. Having talked about Gordon they will try to repeat a good performance and should normally benefit the bigger the format gets. Along the backmarkers, Amigos and SF are the teams with the highest chance to reach the top 3 of their respective group. When it comes to Fluss it is hard to believe they can once again go that deep into a tournament. But everybody should have realized they are a team that needs to be taken seriously.